Pours a deep brown with amber notes and a medium creamy/bubbly off white head. Aroma of nuts, toffee, caramel and hints of chocolate. Flavor of the some. Getting some metallic notes. But overall a nice brown ale. I would hop it more...but this is a solid version.

Pours from the bottle with a deep, ruby-tinted brown color beneath a big, billowy, sticky tan head. The aroma features a wonderful caramel sweetness, but also a bit of toasted nuts that give an indication of some substance beneath the sweetness. The flavor doesn’t quite deliver on the suggestions of the aroma, but there is still a pleasant combination of light, sweet caramel, a little coffee and milk, and a bit of earthiness. Unfortunately, the fine, prickly carbonation does not complement the smooth, sweet flavors, and it even distracts and drowns out the flavor to some extent. Overall, this beer makes a great first impression, and if not for the texture, I would want to have another right away. Even so, this is still a nice brown ale that I will likely come back to.

On tap at He’s Not Here in Chapel Hill, out of a plastic bucket more or less. Brown in color with a lasting light khaki head. The aroma is nuts, caramel, and mild toastiness. Nice if nothing out of the ordinary. The flavor is nutty with caramel, mild milk chocolate, and a slightly acrid finish. Medium-bodied with average carbonation. Not a bad beer overall. Helped me break out a pretty killer version of RickRoll in karaoke that night if I do say so myself.

On tap at Natty Greenes, Greensboro NC on 13 July 2006. Chestnut brown colour. Nutty and borderline dry. Just a touch of caramel and a lick of dusty hops. Malt is more toasty than sweet caramel. Relatively firm mouthfeel. Not usually a style I’m too keen on but this was a decent enough example.

Smell: A malt, chiefly nutty nose, though there’s plenty of chocolate, caramel, and light roast to be found as well. Meager dehydrated dark fruits beneath the maltiness. Again: nuts.

Taste: Where I found the aroma to be largely nutty, the taste was mainly of chocolate powder. Supported by additional malty influences of sweet dark caramel, toasted nuts, and a splash of mellow coffee. Light raisin-like fruitiness. Subtle earthy hop character with a light hint of clean bitterness. Finishes smooth, sweetish, and with more of those fine malt tastes.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: A pleasant, tasty, low-alcohol, malt-forward brown ale. Were I to have regular access to this, I’d keep it in steady refrigerator rotation.

The state of North Carolina has brown ales figured out. Another fine example, this pours a deep brown with a thin-medium head that dies quickly. Aroma is light. Flavor almost delves into stout/porter territory, but keeps mouthfeel/smooth carbonation of a brown. Unusually sweet finish--maybe too much. Duck-Rabbit and Carolina Nut Brown still win, however. Highly drinkable.

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